After crossing the broken bridge, the path became somewhat rugged again.
Halfway through the walk, iron cages appeared on the branches around the forest.
A foul stench of rot emanated from within the iron cages.
Mono took a look and found that these cages were just the right size for Little people.
Looking down from their position toward the branches further into the deep forest, he could see many similar iron cages hanging in other places amidst the mist.
It was hard to imagine how many people had been imprisoned here by the Hunter, hung from trees, and left to starve to death.
Mono and Six walked a bit further when a sudden sound came from the distance again.
"That guy has already gotten ahead of us. Move slowly and don't make a sound."
Mono instructed Six.
Six nodded.
The two slid down a slope and slowly hid behind a crate along the flat ground.
"Wait first!" Mono pulled Six back.
A beam of intense light swept past the wooden crate they were hiding behind.
The Hunter was still on patrol.
Mono spotted a wooden shack up ahead.
The path was blocked on both sides by high terrain; if they wanted to leave, they could only pass through the wooden shack.
However, the door to the wooden shack was tightly closed.
Although he and Six could open a normal door if they worked together...
Mono didn't dare to bet on whether that door was locked.
He knew that on the other side of the wooden shack was a Stinking Gutter. As long as they could quickly cross the shack and hide in the Stinking Gutter, they could temporarily evade the Hunter's sight and attacks.
Before they could hide in the Stinking Gutter, it would be very dangerous if they were discovered by the Hunter.
Therefore, he couldn't afford to waste even a second.
Mono said to Six:
"In a moment, we'll first run behind that crate over there, then use the slats on the wooden shack to climb up to the second-floor window and run through from there. If the Hunter spots us, just run. Don't stop, got it?"
Six nodded.
The Hunter's searchlight swept over again and then moved away from their hiding spot.
"Go~" Mono said in a low voice.
The two hunched their bodies and slowly moved their feet, heading toward the back of another crate.
Fortunately, the Hunter didn't act crazy this time and didn't suddenly turn around.
Mono and Six reached the crate safely.
However, there were no more crates ahead this time.
Calculating the distance, Mono felt a bit nervous.
The time it took for the Hunter's searchlight to sweep back was only ten seconds.
And with such a long distance, if they wanted to cross silently, it would take at least twenty seconds.
So, no matter what, they would definitely be discovered by the Hunter in a moment.
Although it was a bit of a headache, Mono still led Six forward.
When the two reached the midpoint between the crate and the wooden shack, the searchlight began to sweep back.
Just as the searchlight was about to fall on them...
"Run~"
Mono shouted urgently.
Having said that, he ignored everything else and immediately began to sprint.
Click~
The next moment, the searchlight fell upon Mono and Six, casting long shadows.
Grrr~
The Hunter's strange, angry roar noisily reached their ears again.
The two finally reached the side of the wooden shack at their fastest speed before the Hunter could raise his gun.
On the outside of the wooden shack's wall, there were many horizontal slats nailed to the wooden boards, leading straight to the ventilation window of the Attic.
Mono used both hands and feet to cling onto them and climb up.
As for Six, he didn't need to worry about her at all, because she had already climbed ahead of him.
Mono looked at the agile Six above his head, feeling depressed in his heart.
But he didn't dare to delay.
Click~
The Hunter finally raised his gun barrel.
Boom!
His firing speed was still as fast as before.
Even on flat ground, Mono found it somewhat difficult to dodge.
Now hanging on the wall, it was naturally even more impossible to make any evasive movements.
Mono hurriedly grabbed Little Six's foot as she was still preparing to climb up.
"Wait~"
Although Little Six was a bit nervous, she still stopped her movements.
She looked down quickly at Mono, not knowing what he wanted to do.
But there was no time to ask.
"Bang~"
A loud explosion rang out right by the duo's ears.
An old, worn-out Television that had been hanging on the wall was directly blasted apart by the Hunter's gun.
Little Six was slightly dazed.
She finally understood why Mono had pulled her.
At the angle they had just climbed up, there happened to be a Television acting as an obstacle, blocking the Hunter's shot.
If she had kept climbing up recklessly just now, the Hunter would have definitely hit her.
Mono had already started climbing up again.
Having played the game, he felt that these maneuvers were standard procedure.
However, seeing Little Six dazed and blocking the path again, he hurriedly patted her smelly foot and scolded:
"Hey, hurry up and climb! Do you want to wait for death?"
Little Six snapped back to her senses and began climbing up again using both hands and feet.